I Trusted You
by Moonlight-Ray0425
Summary: Annie is finally released from her crystal. Confused and struck with panic, she desperately tries to escape her prison. When she finds her freedom, she is immediately greeted by someone she did not expect to see so soon. It might have some harsh language later on. This is ereannie or eren x annie. I ship them, don't judge. I do not own any of these characters.
1. The Escape

Darkness. Darkness was all she felt. Darkness was all she saw. Darkness was all around her.

Darkness.

Darkness represented many things.

The dead.

The cold.

The misery.

The evil.

All the things that she hated.

And then a crack.

And another.

And another.

The darkness was peeling away. It started as a small piece being chipped away, shattering as it hit the black floor. Then it turned into larger pieces then into larger chunks.

Each landed with a thud.

And then a huge burst of light exploded in front of the girl as the last glass of darkness fell to the floor.

Icy blue eyes fluttered open, trying to adjust to the sudden appearance of that irritating light.

Light represented many things.

Life.

Hope.

Peace.

Happiness.

Trust.

All the things she avoided.

Then the only thing supporting her simply melted away and gravity did its job. She fell over with a thud, her golden locks undoing itself and veiling over her face like a shimmering curtain. The impact knocked the wind out of her lungs but only for a few seconds.

"Hey! She's awake!"

"Oh crap! Hurry! Get Levi Heichou or someone!"

Levi? That name sounded very familiar. Wait, before that, who was talking? Where was she? What was going on?

The girl slowly looked up, the world was spinning but it was slowing down. She felt weak and worn out as she lifted up a hand to brush her golden threads away from her face.

Ah, this place didn't look familiar at all. It was cold, dreary, and damp. Not very likeable nor very suitable for a frail girl like her.

A frail girl like her…

A weak girl like her…?

She glanced back and noticed weird chunks of clear, blue crystals scattered all over the floor. Chains were hanging limply from what seemed to be meant to hold up something.

Where was she? She couldn't really remember anything. Only a few vague images…

She looked up to see a man, trembling, and pointing what looked like a weapon at her.

A gun?

She sensed danger but kept her calm façade.

"D-don't move, you monster! Or I'll shoot!" he threatened.

Monster?

Why did he call her a monster?

Her eyes glanced at her surroundings once more but found no exit except for the door that was behind that man with the gun.

She shifted her arms to get a stable foundation.

"I said don't move! Levi heichou will be here any minute now. He'll make you pay for everything you've done," his eyes were filled with fear and with anger. "Female titan!"

Female…titan?

Her eyes widened as her pupils dilated.

Oh…

Oh.

OH.

The memories came flooding back like a tidal wave, crashing over her.

Reiner…

Bertold…

_Eren._

She had to get out of here.

Fast.

Then almost on instinct she swung her legs, slamming them against the ankle of her guard. He gave a sharp yelp and tumbled to the floor, his grip loosening on his weapon. As he struggled to back up, the girl made a sprint towards her exit. The deafening crack of a gunshot and a sharp pain burning into the girl's leg was enough to make her realize that this was not going to end very well. She tried to ignore the murderous sensation crawling up her calf but it was too much for her. She panted as she leaned against the wall, doing her best not to faint. She felt weak and defeated, her hair swishing against her face which annoyed her. Normally, it would've been in her usual bun but right now, her hair was the least of her problems. She forced herself to walk, limping as she went. Finally, the smoke began to rise from her wound, signaling the healing time. It was slower than usual but it couldn't be helped. She was tired, hungry, and dying so it made sense for her titan abilities to have trouble doing its thing.

"Where is she?"

"She escaped! Hurry and find her! Levi heichou said he'll be here in five minutes!"

The voices bounced off the walls.

Five minutes?!

This was bad. She was already lost in this maze and now she only had five minutes to get out before that very skilled person got here?! She remembered how he was able to cut her up and escape with Eren all by himself in just a manner of minutes.

"Huh? He's not coming alone?!"

The girl jerked her head up, listening. He's not alone? That makes it even worse…

"A boy? Oh you mean that Eren kid? Ugh, why him?"

"Apparently he really wanted to come and wouldn't leave Levi heichou alone until he said yes."

"Ha! Oh well, at least we have another monster to help out with this monster."

"Haha! Funny. But you better hurry and find her before she shifts."

The girl furrowed her brows as she hid behind the corner of a wall.

She wished she could shift but right now her energy was running low.

And not only that…

Eren was coming here?! Why? Why was he coming here? He was the last person she wanted to see. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and continued her trek. After what seemed to be an eternity, her wound was healed. She immediately ran along the halls, trying to make her footsteps soft and discreet, but she was in a hurry. She had to escape. Now.

She ran and ran, not knowing where she was going, but she ran nonetheless.

She ran and ran and ran. Her footsteps gradually getting heavier as her lungs tried to take in as much oxygen as possible. She stopped, panting and eyes on alert, she scanned her area. It still looked unfamiliar. She sighed angrily, frustrated at her lack of progress.

"Calm down, Annie." She mumbled to herself.

She needed to relax and think things through. She was being too reckless like that suicidal bastard. She needed to calm her mind and emotions. Just like the usual Annie. She inhaled then exhaled. Alright, she thought of different scenarios that might happen if she did specific actions. If she continued to run the chance of bumping into random soldiers or even Levi was high. If she took her time and snuck around a bit, the risk of being caught was also high but better than slamming into her…former teammates. She decided to keep quiet and stay low. She slowly turned a corner, her eyes trying to detect another human being. No one was there…

She took a deep breath and slowly walked down the stone hall. She tried to be quiet, her breathing soft, and her footsteps light. She headed towards a flight of stairs and exhaled. If she went up there and found herself face to face with that midget or with Eren then she wouldn't know what to do except run. She could probably knock Eren over due to their past sparring but she didn't know about Levi. Maybe Eren got better too…

The very thought sort of made her…proud. Maybe even happy if she dared to say the word. She shook away the strange thoughts and sighed, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

She was still a warrior, a failure as one, but she still had a job to do. She needed to capture Eren and take him where she needed to take him.

She softly walked up the stairs. She reached the top and cautiously looked around until she spotted a door ahead. That was it. That was the exit. She could see the sunlight peer through the cracks of the wooden exit. She summoned the remaining energy she had and sprinted towards her freedom. She grabbed the handle and wrenched it open.

Another burst of light. But this time it was warm and real. The rays of the sun wrapped themselves over the fragile girl, relaxing her muscles and calming her nerves. Then, she saw him.

"A-Annie…"

That shaky voice. Those emerald green eyes. That look of shock and fear.

Eren.


	2. Why?

Annie's eyes widened but it wasn't wide enough to show her vulnerability.

"A-Annie…?" Eren tried again, his voice cracked but it was clear. "You…you escaped?"

The girl slowly recovered from her little shock, her eyes returning back to its cold glare.

"What do you think, Eren?" she asked, her tone flat. "I'm here, aren't I?"

Eren blinked, lips slightly parted, green eyes wide and filled with shock.

Annie waited for him to say more, but nothing else came. Her bangs were in the way so she tucked it behind her ear again, waiting.

Nothing.

"So, if that's all you had to say," she scowled. "I'll be going."

She walked past Eren who was still frozen in shock, trying to understand the event that just happened. He was still trying to process everything that was going on.

His teacher.

His mentor.

His _friend. _

The girl named Annie, who was a traitor to humanity and to himself, who trapped herself in a freakin crystal, was finally here, in front of him. Free.

She continued to walk away, not even throwing a glance back at him.

What was she doing?

She was supposed to capture Eren, not avoid him!

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Well, even if she did shift and manage to grab him, that Levi bastard would probably catch up with her in three seconds and tear her apart just like before.

Yeah, she couldn't risk that. Not again she couldn't.

"Annie!" he called out again.

Oh? He finally found the courage to talk?

His voice sounded angry now, it wasn't shaking nor was it cracking.

She smiled a small smile to herself, her back still against Eren's glare.

Yes, that was the voice she was waiting for. That tone that was filled with hatred, disgust, fear, and anger. She deserved that sort of voice after all.

That was the tone that she was expecting from him. That was the tone of Eren Jaeger.

"What?" she said, her grin falling as she turned to look at him.

He looked furious alright. His eyes were practically burning holes in her face. His hands were clenched into tight fists as he gritted his teeth.

Now this was the part where he would scream and curse her. The part where he would pour all of his hatred into the air, hurl whatever insults he could possibly think of, and threaten her until her very name was dripping with the curse of death.

That was what she was expecting.

However, this is Eren Jaeger - the suicidal bastard. The unpredictable boy who could transform into a titan and fight for 'humanity.'

She could never really predict his reactions nor could she predict his words.

"Why?" he said.

Annie blinked, her eyes still cold.

"What do you mean why?"

Eren's knuckles were turning white as he dug his nails into his palm, his gaze never leaving Annie's.

"Why did you do it?"

"You need to be more specific, Eren Jaeger." She said with a bored expression.

He swallowed, eyes burning with the fires of hell.

"Why did you betray humanity? Why did you betray your friends?" he asked darkly. "Why did you betray me?"

He needed an answer. He needed an answer now.

Annie said nothing as she kept her stoic expression. The wind picked up her golden locks, gently caressing her face.

"Why indeed, Eren…" she whispered. "Why did I betray you?"

Eren gritted his teeth even harder as he tried to contain his bubbling fury.

_I betrayed you because you need to protect something that's even more important than your so called humanity. _

_I betrayed you because you need to protect more than just stupid walls._

_I betrayed you because you have a life outside of those walls._

That's what she wanted to say, but that was not her job. Her job was to simply capture Eren and take him where he belonged. A boy like him, a shifter like him, did not deserve to stay behind those suffocating walls.

"Because I'm evil."

Eren blinked at her words, his anger being replaced with puzzlement.

"W-what? Evil?"

Annie was also surprised at her words.

Evil?

Well that was a bit unexpected. A bit far from the actual truth, but it'll have to do.

Actually, it was technically a bit true…

She was evil. She believed that she was evil so she was sort of telling the truth.

"You…you're not evil!" Eren exclaimed.

Again, he said something unpredictable.

And that pissed her off.

"Really?" she raised an eyebrow, arms crossed, daring him to state a reason why he thought that way. "Can you really say that, Eren?" she said quietly. "Can you really say I'm not evil?"

Eren looked taken aback and his eyes suddenly found interest on the ground.

Yes, that's right. He couldn't call her good.

She killed too many of his friends to even be considered good. She killed way too many innocent people to not have the word 'evil' hang over her head.

She is evil.

A cold, heartless person.

Evil.

"I'm leaving." She said.

She couldn't stand to see his sorrowful face anymore.

Someone like him shouldn't be feeling pity for an evil girl like her.

Someone as good as him shouldn't be looking at an evil person like her.

"W-WAIT! Annie!" he said shrilly.

She ignored him and continued to walk.

That was when Eren slammed into her, tackling her to the ground.

Unpredictable as always.

But when it came to close combat, Annie was always superior.

She managed to kick him off and quickly scramble back on her feet, eyeing Eren as he struggled to get back up as well.

"Let's see…" she breathed, her icy blue eyes having a certain spark to them.

Eren panted as he looked up at her, half furious and half confused.

"See what?" he snapped.

"Let's see how much you've improved." She raised both her arms in front of her.

Eren's eyes widened at her familiar stance.

"Come, Eren." She said with a deadly glare. "I want to see how much you've grown."


	3. Improvement

Eren hesitated…

He split up with Levi heichou so they could search for Annie faster that way.

He knew that was a good idea but he kept thinking the same thing over and over again:

_What should I do when I see her?_

He never really knew how he would react when he finally became face to face with her. Even on the way here, he kept fretting over what to say when he got the chance to talk to her. Of course he never mentioned this to Levi heichou.

Eren knew that he and Annie would fight sooner or later.

But he didn't expect her to pick a fight like this.

She only wanted to fight him because she wanted to see how much he improved?

Was that something she should be saying? Instead of leaving and running away, she stayed put and picked a fight with him just so she could see his growth and improvement?!

It didn't make any sense…

"Well, Eren Jaeger?" she said, snapping him out of his confusion. "I'm waiting. How will you present your first strike today?"

Eren raised his fists and eyed Annie's blank face.

He'll show her how much he's improved. She may have taught him many of his fighting moves and she may have beaten him in almost every sparring match. But while she's been sleeping inside some crystal, he's been getting a lot of practice with Mikasa and his friends. He's made a large amount of improvement…

He's changed since the last time she saw him.

He'll show her.

He'll prove that to her.

He gulped but his eyes were burning with determination as he took a step forward.

Annie raised an eyebrow.

She liked that look. That look of pure courage and perseverance.

Her expressionless mask seemed to crack just a bit as she realized this.

Seeing his chance, Eren sprinted towards her, ready to strike.

He was ready, he was ready to do his thing.

He was ready to show her how much he's grown.

But Annie saw through his move. Her eyes twinkled underneath the light of the sun as she brought her leg forward and slammed it against his ankle. He stumbled forward, giving Annie an opportunity to grab him by the neck with her arms and flip him over with a swift kick to his knee. He fell with a loud thud, on his back, his legs slumped over his face. He blinked and gazed at the sky from in between his thighs.

Well, maybe he hasn't grown as much as he thought he had.

"What the hell was that, Eren Jaeger?" Annie said, brushing her bangs away from her face. "That was the first move I've done on you when we first met. How do you fall for that again?"

Eren didn't even bother correcting his position as he continued to stare at the blue void overhead.

"That…was a long time ago." He said quietly.

"A lame excuse. You were supposed to learn from that, Eren." The girl said coldly.

"It's been a while since I've last sparred with you, I forgot how you fight." He said blankly.

"Sparring, huh?" she mumbled.

She stared at Eren's overturned body and her stoic mask chipped away again.

A small smile, a very small smile, tugged at her lips as she walked over to him and stared down at his shocked yet sort of calm expression.

"You haven't grown at all, you suicidal bastard."


	4. I'm Leaving

Annie ran over her options.

Either run. Run as far away as she could. Maybe into the forest where they would have trouble looking for her.

Or stay. Stay here with Eren and risk getting caught by that Levi kid. Be interrogated and tortured by those nasty soldiers.

Option number one sounded better.

Annie turned around and was about to head towards the forest but Eren's voice stopped her.

"Leaving already?" he said, still in that weird position.

"I don't plan to stay." She said. "I can't stay in this make believe world. I live in reality." She said casually.

Eren said nothing for a while before opening his mouth to say more.

"Reality as in the outside world?"

"Be more specific, Eren." She said again.

"You know what I mean." He sighed.

Annie crossed her arms and stared at the thick forest ahead. The clock was ticking…

She couldn't afford to waste any more time or she'll be a goner.

"If you mean outside of those goddamn walls then yes." She said, her tone still calm and easygoing.

Silence.

"I need to go. That Levi brat will definitely find me if I stay any longer, Eren." She growled. "I don't plan on being cut up."

Eren still said nothing for a few seconds before finally heaving himself up. He sat cross legged on the dirt floor and looked at Annie with a look of exasperation.

"You won't shift?" he asked.

The golden haired girl glanced back at him, the breeze drifting between them, picking up her locks once more before gently setting it back down. Her cold and icy eyes somehow seemed to have grown soft as she stared at the naïve boy.

"I don't have the energy to shift. Even if I did, I wouldn't. It would bring unwanted attention to me." She said quietly. "I'm leaving, Eren." She said for the hundredth time.

The emerald eyed boy clenched his hands into fists as she said this.

"Annie!"

"I'm leaving."

"A-Annie! Wait!"

"I have to go."

"H-Hold on! Annie!"

"Goodbye."

"ANNIE!" his voice was loud enough to scatter the birds from their trees.

"Eren, that brought unwanted attention. I really need to go now." A look of panic and urgency flashed through her eyes.

Eren was breathing heavily as he glared at her.

"Aren't…aren't you supposed to be capturing me?" he said softly.

Annie blinked at his question.

"Do you want me to capture you and take you away from your friends?" she said, amused.

"N-No…" he mumbled.

"I didn't think so." She said. "Why would you ask something like that anyway?" she sighed. "You are a very strange child, Eren Jaeger."

"Was that a compliment?"

"Take it as one." She said, walking towards the forest.

She came to a halt and glanced back at him, her eyes gradually becoming an icy blue once more.

"I'm still going to capture you, Eren." She said dully. "It is my mission, my duty to. Right now, I don't have the energy to even try and there's too many risks."

Eren stared at her as she slowly closed her eyes then opened them.

"I'd be extra careful if I were you." She said quietly, walking into the deep forest.

Eren watched her leave until her back completely vanished into the greenery.


	5. Lies

It was a very awkward ride back home. Captain Levi didn't say anything the entire time, he didn't even look back at Eren. He just stared straight ahead, his hands on the horse's reins. Eren stayed oddly silent as he trotted alongside his captain.

An awkward silence drifted between them until Levi decided to break the ice.

"So…why didn't you shift?" he asked, his eyes not leaving the road ahead of him.

Eren gripped the reins tightly in his hands.

"She…she ran away before I could." He said.

Levi stayed quiet for a minute longer.

"I heard you say her name. It was pretty loud."

"Oh…yeah." Eren coughed slightly. "I saw her but she was running away so I sort of screamed her name to get her attention." he said, his hands clenching the reins even tighter.

"Is that so…?" his captain said.

Eren nodded but Levi didn't look at him.

"Yes, sir." He said instead.

A huge knot of guilt formed in Eren's stomach.

What was he doing?

His mission was to prevent Annie from escaping and make her pay for everything she's done…

But he just let her go and watched her leave without a moment of hesitation.

Why?

Why did he do that?

He could've shifted and easily grabbed her then. She was out of energy and dead tired, she said so herself.

There was no way she would've been able to transform and fight Eren off.

That was the perfect chance to stop Annie and make her spill everything she's done.

Yet, why didn't he do it?

Instead, he just let her toss him around like some doll and let her walk away with just a flip of her hair.

He mentally cursed himself as he continued his journey back home.

Not only that, he lied to Levi heichou.

He lied to humanity's strongest soldier.

He lied to the man that had every right to know the true events.

He lied to him.

Eren closed his eyes as his grip loosened.

Annie killed Levi's entire squad…

She killed so many people and he let her off just like that.

He really hasn't grown after all…

"Eren." Levi's harsh voice slapped him hard on the face.

"Y-Yes, sir?" he stammered.

His captain still didn't look at him, his narrow eyes concentrated on what was in front of him.

"In what direction did she go?" he asked.

"H-Huh?"

"In what direction did that bitch go? I don't feel like repeating myself, Eren." His voice was low and deadly.

Eren gulped as he tried to recollect his thoughts.

"She went to the forest near east, sir." He managed to choke out.

Levi said nothing.

Eren waited for him to give him a command but none came.

"I see." He simply said.

That's it? Wasn't he going to go and track her down? Wasn't he going to order Eren to shift and look for Annie no matter how long it took? Wasn't he going to avenge his deceased squad?

"U-Um, Levi heichou?" he said.

"What?"

"A-Aren't you going to go and kill her?" he said quietly.

"Of course, but not with you."

"Huh? Why?" Eren blinked.

"I'll go get her…without you." He said with a blank expression.

Eren stopped his horse as he tugged on the reins. Levi, however, kept going.

"Levi heichou!" Eren said loud enough so he could hear.

Still, Levi did not halt his ride.

"LEVI HEICHOU!"

"Shut up, shitty brat." He said. "Your voice is too loud, it's annoying."

"Why can't I go with you?" Eren ignored his insult.

Levi finally pulled on the reigns as he looked back at Eren, his eyes were cold and empty.

"I thought it was obvious." He simply said. "If you go with me, you will just be in the way."

Eren frowned as he gritted his teeth.

"I will not be in the way, Levi heichou!" he snapped.

"Don't raise your voice at me." He narrowed his already narrow eyes.

Eren flinched at his words but held his ground as he gripped the reins in his hands.

"What makes you think I'll be in the way…? If you have me then you'll have a higher chance of capturing her! I can turn into a titan and my skills as a soldier isn't horrible!" he exclaimed.

Silence.

"Do I have to say it, Eren?" Levi glared at him.

Eren gulped, confused.

"S-Say what, sir?"

"Your physical abilities are passable." He said and Eren brightened at his compliment. "But," he said lowly. "Your emotions are unstable. You will hesitate to fight her. Your emotions will get the best of you. You will just be in the way."

Eren winced as Levi's glare pierced his soul.

"T-That won't happen…" Eren mumbled.

"Don't lie to me." Levi said quietly. "You suck at lying."

Eren lowered his gaze.

So Levi knew that he was lying about Annie running away before he could transform, huh?

As expected from him.


	6. Too Quick

"Eren!" Armin ran up to him as he got off his horse.

"Oh, hey, Armin…" Eren sighed.

His tone didn't go unnoticed by his best friend.

"What happened?" the blonde asked with concern.

"Huh? Oh well…"

"Eren," A soft voice made Eren flinch. "Where were you?" Mikasa walked towards him.

She grabbed him by the shoulder and inspected him, looking for any signs of injury.

"Why didn't you tell me where you were going?" she said quietly.

"O-Oh, well I was in a rush so-"

"Make sure to tell me next time." She said sternly.

"Y-Yeah…"

"So? Where were you, Eren?" Armin asked.

Eren sighed as he scratched his head, "I went with Levi heichou to…to go check up on Annie."

Mikasa blinked as Armin stared at him.

"A-Annie?" Armin whispered. "Why? What happened?"

"That's classified information, brat." Levi walked towards them, obviously not in the mood for anything.

"P-Please forgive me, sir!" Armin exclaimed loudly.

Levi gave him an irritated sigh before looking at Eren.

"Hey, shitty moron, follow me." He ordered.

Eren nodded and quickly ran after the captain.

"Mikasa?" Armin said quietly.

She didn't seem to hear him as she stared after Eren's back.

"…Armin, why do you think they went to go see Annie?" she suddenly said.

"Huh? O-oh…the only reason I can think of is…"

"What did you need, Levi heichou?" Eren said firmly.

Levi leaned against a wall, crossing his arms.

"I'm going to tell the news to Erwin." He said. "We need squads to take that bitch down."

Eren gulped as he detected the tone of hatred in the captain's voice.

"Y-Yes, sir!" he nodded.

"Actually you're going to tell him the news." Levi said. "I'll be in my office."

Eren held his breath as he watched Levi walk away. He exhaled deeply once he was an earshot away.

Everything was happening way too quickly.

His meeting with Annie was too quick, lying to Levi was too quick, talking with his friend and adoptive sister was too quick.

He shook his head before heading towards Erwin's office.

How was he even going to report this to him?

"Oh um, hi, but like the female titan sort of escaped thanks to my inability to sort of stop her?"

Or,

"Hi, I saw the female titan girl in front of me, she flipped me over, then walked away into a forest."

Or something like,

"Hello! Annie escaped. I sort of let her. Levi is out to murder her. He wants soldiers. So what do I do?"

Eren came to a halt and smacked himself on the forehead.

This was going to be very, very difficult.

He could lie but leaving out information on a report wasn't really recommended here.

What should he do?

Before he knew it, he was in front of the two wooden doors. He took a deep breath and knocked softly.

He waited, his heart beat increasing with every second.

Again, he knocked, this time a bit louder.

"Come in."

Eren gently rested his hand on the handle and taking in another lungful of air, he pushed the door open.


	7. I Promise

"So, let me get this straight." Erwin rests his chin on both of his hands as he intensely stared at Eren's uncomfortable figure. "Annie escaped her crystal, you tried to stop her, but she flipped you over with just her bare hands, then she escaped before you could do anything, Levi is pissed so he wants to go out and murder her?"

Eren nodded vigorously.

Erwin blinked before leaning back on his chair.

"Why do I feel like parts of that is a lie?" he sighed.

Eren shifted uncomfortably in his spot, looking down at the floor before taking a deep breath and looking right at Erwin's blank façade.

"Because a part of that is a lie…" he said a bit too quietly. "I…I let Annie go, sir." He managed to make out. "I don't know why, but I just let her walk off…"

Silence.

Then another deep sigh from Erwin as he massaged his temples.

"Does Levi know?"

"Yes, sir." Eren said almost sheepishly.

"Eren…maybe it is wise if you don't go with Levi and the others."

Eren gritted his teeth at these words, clenching his hands into fists.

"B-But sir! This time…this time for sure, I won't just let her go! I definitely will capture her and make her suffer all the punishments that she deserves!" he exclaimed sternly.

Erwin stared at him before getting up from his seat.

"Eren, I don't think you understand." He said. "If I were someone else, you would've been accused of treason for letting the female titan escape. What you did will be a secret between you, me, and Levi. Understand? We can't risk you going out and intentionally let her escape again."

"But sir-!"

"Eren." Erwin's tone made him flinch. "I heard that you and the female titan were very close during your trainee days." He said. "And that she taught you many things such as close combat skills, am I right?"

Eren swallowed a lump from his throat and nodded slowly.

"If that's the case then you will have trouble fighting her." He said, walking past Eren and opening the door. "You are human after all. Humans normally let their emotions get the best of them. She must be your first betrayal, yes?" he said, not looking back at Eren's furious expression. "I've had plenty of betrayals in my experience…so I understand how you feel, but, Eren…" Erwin patted him on the shoulder before walking out of his office. "This is for the sake of humanity."

And with that, he closed the door shut behind him.

Eren kept his stare glued to the floor before gradually raising his head.

Anger bubbled up within him as he glared at the empty chair in front of him.

They were underestimating him.

All of them.

Every single one of them.

Levi, Erwin, and maybe even Annie.

The thought of them looking down on him like that made Eren burn with anger.

He grew. He grew into something more than a reckless child.

H's grown, he knows he has. He'll prove it. Not just through small sparring lessons but with his survival skills. Maybe even with words.

He whirled around on his heel and wrenched the door open.

His eyes widened as he became face to face with Armin and Mikasa.

"Eren…" Mikasa said softly.

"Don't tell me…" Eren groaned. "You guys heard everything, didn't you?"

Armin nodded slowly without saying a word.

"That Annie escaped and that Levi heichou is looking for her?" Eren sighed.

They both said nothing for a few moments before Armin decided to break the ice.

"E-Eren, I knew that Annie escaped. It was sort of obvious after you went to go see her." He smiled nervously before quickly replacing it with a frown. "But the reason why we're here is to stop you."

"Stop me? From doing what?" Eren blinked, crossing his arms.

"Knowing you, Eren-" Armin started.

"I won't let you go after her." Mikasa cut in, her eyes cold and empty as she grabbed Eren by the shoulders. "I won't let you. She'll capture you again and…" she trailed off before tightening her grip.

"Ow, Mikasa! Let go of me!" Eren snapped, shrugging her off. "I won't go after her, okay!"

"Liar." She whispered. "We know you, Eren. You'll definitely try to get her yourself."

Eren bit his lip, refusing to meet their worried gaze. Then his anger returned, this time bigger than before.

"I can't believe you guys." He hissed. "Why are all of you underestimating me? I'm not a little kid anymore! I can do this! I'm a soldier! A soldier of humanity! I'm stronger now!" he snapped.

"Eren, we know you're strong, but this one…this one is too risky." Armin quickly said, trying to ease his anger.

"How? How is this too risky?!"

"Eren…" Armin stopped himself, trying to find the right words.

"Your emotions." Mikasa said, not caring whether her tone was harsh or not.

"This again…?" Eren groaned. "I have myself under control now! I was just in shock before, but this time I can do it! You guys have to trust me!"

Armin opened his mouth but Mikasa beat him to it again.

"I still won't let you." She said softly, grabbing his hand. "Please, Eren…" she whispered. "Carla…she asked me to protect you and that's what I'm trying to do. So I need you to cooperate with me. If you go after Annie then the risk of you being captured is high. So please…" she almost begged, squeezing his hand.

Eren stared at her then averted his attention to Armin who also looked concerned but hopeful.

Sighing angrily, Eren held Mikasa's hand back and gave her a small smile.

"Alright…" he mumbled. "Alright, alright…fine. I'll stay. I won't go after her…"

Mikasa didn't seem convinced, neither did Armin.

"I'm serious!" Eren snapped. "I won't go after her, okay! I'll stay here with you guys."

"Promise me." Mikasa said. "Promise us that you won't go."

Eren bit his lip, not daring to look at her straight in the eye.

"Eren…" her voice almost sounded desperate.

"Fine." He sighed, shaking her hand away. "I promise."


	8. My Way

Nightfall fell onto the land, the sun slowly crawling underneath the horizon. Eren stared out of the window of a hallway, embracing the last rays of the fading sun. He gazed at the vibrant colors of orange gold as they wrapped themselves around the world.

Levi heichou and the others should be out of the walls by now.

Would they be okay?

Levi would definitely be okay, but what about the others?

What about Annie?

Was she okay?

Was she still weak?

Did she find some food at least?

How many more was she going to kill this time?

"Eren," Armin's voice snapped him out of his train of questions.

"H-Huh? What?" he blinked, turning to look at his friend who stared at him suspiciously.

"We should hurry and go back to our room." He said softly.

Eren nodded and sighed before glancing out the window once more.

"Yeah…" he mumbled, walking away with Armin.

"…I really hope you keep your promise with Mikasa." The blonde said.

Eren said nothing, he just stared up ahead.

"She really wants to keep you safe."

"She's just overprotective." Eren frowned. "It sort of pisses me off…"

"You really can't blame her, Eren. You're her only family member. She'll break down if she finds you gone." Armin whispered.

Eren ran his fingers through his hair, still refusing to look at his friend.

"Break down, huh?" he grumbled. "You guys really have no faith in me."

"That's not it-"

"Then what exactly do you mean?" Eren could feel anger rising up within him again. "That I'm weak? That I can't defend myself? That I'm still a child who still needs the protection of some adopted sister?"

"Eren-"

"You guys keep underestimating me! Why? Why do you keep thinking that I need to be protected?!"

"Eren, please-!"

"I'm done." Eren breathed, turning his back against Armin and walking away.

"Eren!"

He ignored his friend's cries, walking away as fast as he could down the hall.

He had enough. He had enough of being looked down upon.

Screw the promise.

Screw it all.

He'll do things his own way.

He was going to go out and look for Annie himself.

Whether they liked it or not.


	9. After Him

Armin and Mikasa was panicking.

Panicking because of various reasons.

One of the reasons was that a horse in the stables was missing.

Another reason was because a 3D Maneuver Gear was also missing.

And Eren was nowhere to be seen.

"Mikasa, calm down, I'm sure he's nearby." Armin said quickly.

Mikasa didn't seem to hear him, she was too busy wrenching a closet open and peering through, almost as if she was expecting Eren to pop out and scream, "Surprise!"

"Armin," she said with a deadly tone. "Where did you last see him?"

"I-In the hallway down there…" he whispered. "He seemed to be angry because I told him not to leave and to keep his promise, but…"

Mikasa closed the door shut, gripping the handle tightly.

"He left without even looking back." He said quietly.

"Why didn't you stop him?" she said softly.

"…I thought he would keep his promise and just come back sooner or later. I guess…I guess I was expecting too much. I'm sorry."

Mikasa swallowed hard as she slowly raised her hand and rested it on her scarf, feeling the fabric with her fingers.

"I was expecting too much too…" her voice was muffled against the red threads.

"Mikasa…I really hate to admit it, but…but I think Eren went out to find Annie."

The black haired girl closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. Her expression was still stoic but Armin knew that her heart was slowly sinking into the abyss.

"Armin," she said. "…I…I have to go."

Before the blonde could protest, she walked away, her mouth still hidden behind her favorite scarf.

"Eren, what are you doing?" Armin groaned.

Armin stood there for a few moments, trying to decide what to do. Finally, he quickly ran after Mikasa, not caring if some of the other soldiers flashed him dirty looks.

"Mikasa!" he exclaimed, whipping his head around, trying to catch even a small glimpse of her. "Mikasa! Where are you!?"

Panting and ignoring the burning sensation that crawled up his thighs and lungs, Armin frantically looked around for his friend. And then, in the corner of his eye, he noticed a small closet. Its door was just slightly ajar and he could hear faint, very faint, sounds emanating from there.

"Mikasa?" Armin said softly, opening the door just enough for him to peer through.

From the thin line of light that poured through the small crevice, Armin could see the outline of his friend. She didn't turn to face him, instead she was staring at the scarlet scarf that was stretched out on her palms.

"Armin," she suddenly said, her tone light and soft. "I'm going out to look for him."

"H-Huh?!"

"Eren needs my help. I will go out to help him." She said, clenching the threads with her hands and biting her lip.

"…I don't think he would like that-"

"I don't care!" she snaps. "He…he needs my help. I'm going to go and look for him even if it means going against his wishes."

"Mikasa…" he said quietly.

"You don't have to come with me, Armin." She said, slowly turning to look at him. "I will go alone if I have to."

And with that, she got up from her seat and walked out of the dark closet, past a stunned Armin.

"W-Wait, Mikasa!" he exclaimed loud enough for her to stop. "I…I'll go with you. I may not have the physical abilities that matches yours or the skills that can be useful in battle but…but I'm still Eren's friend. I'll go and do what I can to help him."

Mikasa simply gives him a soft expression then nods.

"Yes…thank you, Armin." She said with a rare smile.


	10. Footsteps

Eren knew what he was doing wasn't exactly the best idea.

He knew that riding on a stolen horse with a stolen maneuver gear outside of the walls wasn't really the best of best ideas but,

But, Eren had to go find Annie himself. He just had to.

He still had to clarify many things with her.

He still had many more questions to ask her.

Like her freakin betrayal for instance.

She said she betrayed humanity because she was evil. That wasn't enough for Eren. He needed more. Not only that, her excuse was just pathetic.

Evil?

Because she was evil?!

No, there was more than that, he knew that there was more than that.

So he decided to look for the answer himself.

He held onto the reins, ears and eyes on alert.

He escaped the walls by blending in with a group of survey corps soldiers.

He silently managed to split up with them and now he was riding on the territory of titans.

Except, there were no titans. Eren didn't even see a single one.

Which was a bit strange but lucky.

He couldn't risk bringing too much attention to himself.

The only thing he could do now was continue his little search for a certain cold hearted, blonde, traitorous, indifferent, female titan.

Eren sighed already exhausted with doing nothing.

Where was he even going anyway?

He pulled on the reins and stared at the huge plains of grass in front of him.

He blinked before groaning in frustration.

The horse grunted in return before nudging the ground with its nose, maybe looking for something to eat.

Eren gazed up at the sky that was dyed blue, with strips of fluffy clouds, lazily drifting across the bright canvas.

If he was Annie…

Where would he be?

She was tired, hungry, and worn out.

She seemed to be in a hurry to escape before Levi could catch her, she seemed to be…

Scared…?

Eren shook his head quickly as if trying to throw that idea away.

Annie scared?

Why should she be scared?

She was definitely not afraid of Eren.

That little sparring match proved that very well.

Then Levi?

He did cut her up all by himself before so it was pretty reasonable but…

But Eren didn't think that, that was the case.

Annie was more cautious of Levi.

She wasn't scared of him.

Eren frowned, resting his chin on his hand.

That expression.

The expression that she made when she first saw him right after her escape…

Was that expression…fear?

Maybe she really was afraid of him.

But,

But why?

Before Eren could ponder the thought any further, a distant sound finally reached his ears.

Even the horse stopped its little hunt for some fresh grass to perk its head up and try to detect that strange sound.

It sounded like thunder.

Like the strong roll of thunder with some claps of lightening.

Eren whipped his head back, raising an eyebrow.

There wasn't any titans around, at least, he didn't see any…

The same clap of thunder.

This time it was closer.

Much closer.

Eren could feel his heart pound against his chest like a drum.

What was that sound?

He gripped the reins and flicked it up before bringing it back down.

The horse heeded his commands and quickly burst into a sprint, running away from whatever that thundering noise was.

Except, the sound didn't fade away into the air.

It only grew louder and louder and louder…

Eren's eyes widened, finally realizing exactly what that booming noise was.

Those weren't just sounds of thunder.

Those were footsteps.


	11. We're Family

Eren was scared.

He urged the horse to run faster, faster than before, much faster than before.

This was bad.

This was really bad.

Eren jerked his head back, panting despite not doing anything physical.

Still no sign of titans.

If there were no titans then what was making that sound?!

And why was that sound coming even closer?!

Eren's heart could leap out of his chest if it beat any faster.

"Come on…" he said through clenched teeth.

He hit the reins as fast he could, but the horse couldn't go any faster. Even the horse was at its limit.

Eren clicked his tongue but the thundering footsteps were increasing with speed, with volume, and with strength.

This was bad.

This was really bad.

And then, the footsteps stopped.

Almost as if someone found the mute button.

Eren tugged on the reins and the horse came to a halt.

Both were panting, trying their best to calm their racing heart.

Eren blinked, squinting against the light of the sun as he peered through the settling fog.

Nothing.

Nothing?

That was strange.

He could've sworn that there was something chasing after him.

Something terrifying.

Something big.

Something…

A roar.

A thundering roar exploded throughout the land and Eren had no time to react when his horse reared up on its hind legs, hurling him off of its back.

Landing with a sharp thud, Eren muttered a few curse words but immediately gasped in shock as he watched his horse sprint away.

"W-Wait!" he exclaimed, extending his hand.

Another roar.

Eren's pupils dilated as he swung his head back.

Almost instantly, a titan flew through the air, throwing away ripped up trees like dolls when a spoiled child grew bored of them. It slammed itself down onto the earth, sending huge chunks of rock scattering around the boy, forming small craters. Dust swirled around Eren as he eyed the panting titan up and down, too scared to even move. The wind violently picked up his locks as Eren tried his best to think of a plan.

The titan was breathing rather heavily, hot steam blowing out of its nose, hitting Eren in the face like a tidal wave.

The titan leaned forward, its black beady eyes scanning him while its wiry strands of midnight colored hair swayed with the breeze.

Eren stayed perfectly still, refusing to even lift a pinky.

The titan wasn't eating him and for some reason it didn't look like it had any intention to.

Normally, Eren would've bit down on his hand hard and quickly shift into a titan to beat the shit out of this one, but…

But he had a feeling that if he gave off an aura of hostility, it would be the death of him.

The titan stared at him like a hungry predator just waiting, waiting to lunge itself onto its prey.

But for some reason, its expression softened. It slowly went on its knees and hands before very, very steadily leaning its face towards Eren until they were practically nose to nose with one another.

Eren blinked, shocked but puzzled as he watched the titan do such humanely actions.

"W-What are you-"

"EREN!" a shrill scream reached Eren's ears.

The titan whirled itself around only to find a young girl tear through its skin with her two strange swords.

Roaring and growling with pain, the titan ignored its missing arm as it tried to catch Mikasa with its mouth.

"Leave. Eren. ALONE!" she cried furiously, dodging its razor sharp teeth and skillfully ripping away three inches of skin from its neck.

The titan gave one last roar before falling onto its knees and onto its stomach, slowly dissolving away.

"M-Mikasa…?" Eren blinked.

"Eren!" Armin came riding on a horse moments later, obviously not too thrilled with the rotting titan beside him. "What happened?!"

"Eren," Mikasa helped him up, brushing the dust off of his cloak. "Are you okay?"

"Hey," he swallowed before glancing at the dying titan. "That…that thing didn't try to eat me."

"Huh?" Armin blinked, frowning. "What do you mean?"

"I…I don't know. It just went on its knees and…and just stared at me. I don't know-"

"Eren, you are just traumatized." Mikasa said with her usual cold expression.

"N-No! I'm serious! That titan was-!"

"Eren," she said again, her eyes throwing daggers. "Before that, I want to ask you a question."

Armin patted his horse awkwardly, not daring to look at Eren.

"Why did you break your promise?" she said quietly.

Eren flinched at her words.

"W-Well…"

"I was right." She said softly. "You really can't take care of yourself."

"HA?! What did you just say-?!" Eren started, renewed anger burning in his stomach.

"You're weak." She said blankly. "You couldn't even defend yourself in a moment like this. If I didn't come then who knows what would have happened."

Silence.

Eren glared at the ground, trying his best to suppress the bubbling fury.

"Hey, what are you shitty brats doing out here?"

A familiar voice gnawed itself into Eren's bones, making chills run down his spine.

"L-Levi heichou." He mumbled, plastering a nervous smile on his face.

The anger was quickly replaced with fear as Eren turned to face his superior.

Levi was not pleased.

He was not pleased at all.

He was not pleased to see Eren with a maneuver gear that was not his.

He was not pleased to see MIkasa giving him the cold shoulder.

He was also not pleased to see Armin with a horse that was obviously not his.

And he was definitely not pleased to see a decaying titan next to a stunned Eren.

"What happened here?" he seethed, eye twitching with irritation.

"U-Um, sir…some…something incredible happened, you see, um…" Armin stammered.

"I'm asking that shitty brat over there not you." Levi growled as he glared at Eren.

"P-Please forgive me, sir!"

"That's enough. Eren had a rough day, he doesn't need your pestering today, sir." Mikasa said icily as Levi immediately returned her stare with one of his own.

"Your comment was not necessary, Ackerman." Levi hissed dangerously.

"Levi heichou…this was all my fault." Eren said quietly, his eyes wandering away from Levi. "I…I thought I could catch Annie myself but ran into some trouble instead. I dragged everyone into this so please forgive them! It was not their fault, it was mine."

"Eren." Mikasa said.

"NO! Stop defending me, Mikasa! Let me bear some responsibility too, okay?!"

The girl stopped herself at his words before covering her mouth with the red scarf.

"Oh…" she said softly.

"S-So, Levi heichou! I am truly sorry! I really am!"

Levi stayed awfully silent as he watched Eren bow his head lowly. He shifted his gaze to Mikasa who still had half her face hidden behind her favorite scarf. He then glanced at Armin who looked worried and a bit scared as he stared at the horizon.

With a small sigh, Levi pulled on his own horse and began to trot away.

"L-Levi heichou?" Eren squeaked.

"I'll give you two options since you won't listen to shit from me." He snapped making Eren flinch. "Option number one, you stay here with your crappy friends and be eaten."

MIkasa narrowed her eyes.

"Or option number two, you come with me and have a better chance of survival. Choose one."

"We'll go with you." Eren said almost too quickly.

"No, we are going home." Mikasa hissed, grabbing Eren by the arm.

Levi raised an eyebrow, amused by her desperate action.

"Mikasa! No! We're following him! He has a better chance of finding Annie-"

"He can find Annie but _you _don't have to." She snapped.

"Why not?!"

"She will capture you!"

"I'll be fine! Have some faith in me for once!"

"I can't anymore. You gave me every reason not to."

Eren wrenched his arm away from her grasp and took a step back, his expression filled with wrath.

"I don't care what you say anymore. I'm going with Levi heichou whether you like it or not."

Mikasa blinked, her heart sinking and sinking and sinking…

"T-Then we will go with you." Armin pushed himself into the conversation with a weak smile.

"Armin…" Mikasa whispered.

"Eren is very stubborn, you should know that, Mikasa. Once he wants to do something, he'll do it. So the least we can do is watch his back and make sure he doesn't fall. We're his friends, we shouldn't be restricting everything he wants to do. We should be supporting him, not dragging him down. If he doesn't defend himself then we'll defend him. If he fails then we'll force him back on his feet. If he cries then we'll glue a smile back on him. Because we're friends, we're family. We'll take care of each other through thick and thin, but at the same time we'll respect each other's decisions and opinions…" He smiled brightly. "Isn't that what you want, Eren?"

Eren gaped at his friend before breaking into a wide grin.

"Yeah." He nodded with a huge smile.

"See? So, Mikasa, let's go with him and fight alongside him. Let's make the best out of It, okay?"

Levi stared at the blonde with mild interest.

What a guy.

It was obvious that his physical abilities were below average but his abilities with words were definitely something else. He could be an amazing leader one day.

Mikasa thought otherwise.

"If we are family then we have to protect him. This is for his own safety, Armin."

"Mikasa, I know how you feel about him. He's the only family member you have left, but you're more protective than you need to be. As family, as a friend, give him some freedom." Armin said gently.

Mikasa bit her lip, her gaze finding interest on the ground.

"Well? Hurry up, my soldiers are waiting." Levi hissed.

"I'm going." Eren said, walking towards the impatient soldier.

"Eren-" Mikasa started.

"I'm going too." Armin smiled, leading his horse towards Eren and Levi.

"Armin…" Mikasa mumbled.

"Are you coming?" Levi frowned, glancing back at her. "I don't have all day."

Mikasa shot him an annoyed look before sighing.

"Ummm, Levi heichou, my horse sort of ditched me." Eren laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

A single glance from Levi was enough to make Eren tremble in his boots.

"I'll kill you thoroughly when we get back." He said with a deadly tone. "Get on my horse."

"Y-Yes sir-"

"No, Eren, you get on with Armin. I'll go with the midget." Mikasa growled. "I don't want you to touch him. He's dirty."

"I'm not dirty." Levi said with a bored expression.

"Your mouth is." She smirked as she hopped onto his horse. "Don't you dare look at me or even touch me."

Levi said nothing, he was already too pissed to even care.

Eren awkwardly leaped onto Armin's horse.

"Let's go." Levi instructed. "That titan bitch is going to witness hell."


	12. A Compromise

Run.

Run.

Run.

RUN!

Annie sprinted through the woods, her golden locks being whipped along with the wind as she forced her legs to go as fast as they possibly could.

Only for a few moments did she stop herself to quickly catch her breath and immediately start her run again afterwards.

She could hear the soldiers hot on her heals, she could nearly feel them breathing down her neck as she swiftly flew across the forest.

She had to get out of here.

Now.

She didn't have the energy to shift since she barely had anything to eat.

The forest literally had nothing edible to consume without poisoning her.

Only a couple of fish but eating it raw would be horrendous and starting a fire would catch too much attention.

She couldn't exactly hunt down a deer without running into a couple of titans and she didn't exactly have the necessary tools to kill an animal, let alone a damn man-eating monster.

And now, with no energy, no food, no shelter, and no weapon, Annie was running for her life.

She slammed her heels into the forest floor and flung herself behind the trunk of a wide tree, using that as her shield and momentarily hideout.

Her chest heaved up and down, swallowing whatever saliva she had left.

Her azure eyes reflected the rays of the sun as she very, very carefully peeked around the trunk, trying to catch maybe even a small glimpse of the team that were set out to find her and possibly maybe even kill her.

She didn't blame them.

After all, she did murder many people all for the sake of her mission.

It wouldn't be strange to call her a killer, a monster even.

She deserved it.

She was evil, heartless, cold, uncaring…

She was nothing more than a monster.

And then a strange question overcame her mind, pushing away her fear of being caught, pushing away all these dark thoughts.

Did Eren come out to search for her too?

She frowned, shaking her head.

No way.

It's possible that he would have wanted to go and look for her himself but the authorities would never allow it. He did let her walk off without putting up much of a fight so it was reasonable for someone like Levi to make him stay behind those walls.

That was sort of a relief.

Eren's brash, aggressive, straightforward, and unpredictable personality tended to exhaust her sometimes.

But it was also something that most of his comrades admired and respected.

Needless to say, Annie felt the same way.

With a sigh, she tucked a lock of golden hair behind her ear and quickly continued her run from her pursuers.

But something caught her eye.

Smoke.

Not just any smoke, Annie seen that type of smoke hundreds and hundreds of time throughout her life.

With a frustrated sigh, she sprinted towards the swirling cloud of gray, only stopping to make sure that no one was following her.

It took about ten minutes for her to reach her destination, and just as she suspected, what she found was a decaying titan, sprawled out in front of her.

Its skin was evaporating away, smoke spiraling up from its corpse.

She frowned and crossed her arms before kicking the arm of its rotting body.

"Hey, stop playing dead." She said coldly. "Hurry up and get out of there."

A few more seconds before a soft hiss gently erupted from its sliced up neck, and slowly, very slowly, a young girl with pitch black hair emerged from the wound. She looked exhausted but her eyes were still burning with renewed energy.

"Long time no see," she smiled sweetly. "Was it comfy? Being stuck in some crystal for a few months?"

Annie raised an eyebrow, clearly not amused with her taunts.

"What happened here?" she said icily, her pale blue eyes scanning the remaining parts of her titan corpse. "You took some damage."

"Yeah? No shit." She smiled, her eyes glinting with malice. "Before that, guess who I found before some chick sliced me up?"

Annie didn't say anything, she kept her stoic expression, waiting for more.

"That brat named Eren."

Silence.

"What?" Annie's eyes widened, her arms falling to her side. "Eren? Here?"

"Surprised?" the girl said, her tone light and soft. "Since you failed to capture him, I decided to take on the job myself. I found him, alone, and chased him like mad. You should've seen his face." She grinned. "It was hilarious. He was so scared, could've pissed his pants."

Annie didn't seem to be listening, too many thoughts blotted out the girl's annoying voice.

Eren was here?!

Why did he have to come looking for her…

Why did those damn higher ups let him?

Were they stupid?

Eren was definitely stupid.

He was on titan territory and multiple shifters could have so many chances of capturing him.

What did he expect?

For her to come running to him with open arms?

No way in hell.

She was more concerned of making it home alive.

"Hey, Vadil," she said. Can you carry me back home? I don't have enough energy to shift."

"And why should I do that?"

Annie's eye twitched in annoyance.

This girl…

Annie sighed, shaking her head.

"I'm going to take a guess." She suddenly said, tucking another strand of a golden hair behind her ear. "It was a girl who managed to take you down. Black hair, black eyes, red scarf, and strange features, right?"

The girl flinched at Annie's words, avoiding eye contact with her.

"She's Asian and her name is Mikasa." She continued, her cold irises piercing into the girl. "If you want Eren then you have to get through her first. I learned that the hard way, but you would know, yes? I mean after all, you know everything." Annie whispered with a deadly tone. "I have more information on her but I guess I shouldn't waste my time, right?"

Vadil glared at her and so did Annie.

"Hm, not bad." She smiled, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Fine, I'll carry your sick ass home, but in return you give me the data. Deal?"

Annie peered at her through her bangs, her expression still unreadable.

"I'll consider it."

Vadil snorted at her strange reply before smirking.

"Stand back. I'm going to shift." She warned.

Annie heeded her command and took a couple of steps back.

Vadil stared at Annie's emotionless mask for another moment before raising her hand.

"You never change." She grinned, biting down hard enough to draw blood.

Then, a flash of lightning struck down from the heavens causing a huge gust of wind to spread throughout the land.


	13. Yes, Sir

"What was that?" Eren suddenly snapped, whipping his head back.

Armin pulled on the reins, making the horse come to a halt.

Levi did the same, his eyes narrowing, listening to the sharp crack of something big explode from the heavens.

"Levi heichou!" Eren suddenly exclaimed, his voice dripping with fear.

Levi glanced back at him, frowning.

"That noise! That was…that was the sound of a shifter!"

Mikasa's eyes widened, her hands slowly finding their way to the two swords at her hips.

And then,

The familiar sound of growling thunder threatened to split the earth.

Eren's pupils dilated, his nails digging into Armin's shoulder.

"Ow, Eren, what-?!" Armin snapped, looking back at his friend.

"T-That's…the sound…of footsteps." Eren said in a hushed voice. "Titan footsteps."

The familiar boom of thunder dug itself into Eren's bones making his heart pound even faster with every second.

"Move!" Levi ordered, hitting his reins.

The horse immediately started to sprint away, slamming its hooves against the dirt floor.

"Who do you think the shifter is?!" Armin cried over the sound of the rushing wind.

Levi stayed quiet, his eyes on the road ahead of him as he gripped the reins.

"Midget," Mikasa whispered.

"Don't call me that."

"You don't think that it's Annie, do you?" she said quietly, her fingers digging into the saddle.

No answer.

"It could be just an ordinary titan." Levi said coldly.

"An ordinary titan wouldn't just suddenly appear right after the sound of lightening." She hissed. "And not only that, the footsteps aren't going away. It's following us."

Levi clicked his tongue as he glanced back at Armin and Eren.

"Put on your hoods. Now." He spat.

He glanced at Mikasa's blank exterior.

"You too. We're going to confuse the shifter. It doesn't know which one of us is Eren yet so might as well pretend to be him."

Mikasa stared at him before nodding slowly.

She really didn't want to listen to him but what choice did she have?

"We're splitting up." Levi growled. "Armin, don't go too far away. Stay close."

"Yes, sir." Armin gulped, leading his horse a bit towards the right.

"Split up?" MIkasa snapped.

"Shut up, brat. I don't need your pathetic bickering."

A roar ripped through the air, interrupting MIkasa's last minute insults.

Eren's eyes widened as he watched that same black haired titan from before crash through the wall of trees, ripping its branches away, its roar ringing in everyone's ears.

Levi narrowed his eyes, forcing his horse to run even faster.

"That's the titan I killed!" Mikasa said sharply.

"You thought you killed." Levi hissed back.

"E-Eren, isn't that-" Armin started.

"Yeah." Eren swallowed, his eyes glued on the screaming beast.

"How is it still alive?!" Armin exclaimed, hitting his reins.

Eren said nothing, his mind going blank and arms going numb.

"M-Maybe…" he started. "It's a shifter."

Armin's pupils dilated at his words.

"Levi heichou must've found out by now." Eren added, glancing at the corporal.

The titan roared another roar as it bounded through the forest, slowly gaining on the soldiers.

"Mikasa," Levi suddenly said, his eyes not leaving the trail.

"What?"

"If it really is a shifter then it's definitely after Eren." He said coldly. "Our mission now is to protect the damn brat, okay?"

Mikasa nodded.

"In that case, let's finish it here and now." He mumbled, slowly reaching for his weapons.

Silence.

Only the flapping of their capes and the rush of the wind sliced through the silence.

Mikasa's blank expression began to chip away as his words sank through her skin. A very, very rare smirk crawled up on her face. Then she nodded slowly,

"Yes, sir."


	14. Hello, monster

Annie knew exactly how this might turn out.

And it won't turn out pretty.

"Vadil!" she snapped.

She was sitting in the damn titan's hand but she knew that Eren and his friends were just outside these massive fingers.

"Get out of here! Now! That midget and Asian chick is no joke! If they team up-"

A roar suddenly ripped through the air causing Annie to slap her hands over her ears.

Mumbling a few curses underneath her breath, the blonde bit her lip, trying to think of a plan.

She had no energy to shift, Vadil was probably getting the shit beat out of her, and the strongest duo wanted their heads.

There was no plan.

"Fuck! Vadil!" she exclaimed. "Get out of here!"

Another roar.

Annie gave a small gasp when she felt the fingers start to shift. She also felt gravity push her against the titan's palm.

Was Vadil raising her arm?

Annie blinked when Vadil slowly opened up her hand, dropping Annie next to her ear onto her shoulder.

"What are you doing?!" Annie hissed. "I'm out in the open and-" she stopped.

Her eyes widened at the sight of Vadil's bloody body. She was cut all over the place, smoke was drifting from her wounds, she was missing an eye, and an arm was also gone.

Annie whipped her head back only to see Mikasa skimming through the air, her swords raised and ready to tear through the titan's body once more.

That one moment of eye contact was enough to make Mikasa stop in her tracks.

"You…" she breathed, her eyes drilling into Annie's blank, blue ones.

"Vadil," Annie breathed. "Can you hear me? I know you can understand me so listen up," she hissed. "Get out of here. Run. Run as fast as you can. You won't win against them." Her eyes flashed towards Levi's direction.

Levi was just staring at her, his expression still blank and stoic, but Annie could sense danger.

"Vadil, get out of here now. I mean it." She growled, grabbing a few of the titan's wiry strands of hair.

"I won't let you escape." Mikasa suddenly said, her pitch black eyes shooting daggers at Annie. "I'll make sure you stay dead this time. I won't let you take Eren."

Speaking of Eren,

Annie turned her head, observing the forest.

Where was he?

Knowing him…

Annie gave a small smile to herself.

He would never leave a fight.

And she was right, because in the corner of her eye, she spotted the tip of a familiar green cape.

"ANNIE!" Eren's voice boomed throughout the land, his 3D maneuver gear guiding him through the thicket with an excessive amount of speed.

"Eren! No!" Mikasa exclaimed, her eyes filled with fear.

"That damn brat." Levi hissed angrily.

"Vadil," Annie whispered, her eyes not leaving Eren's. "He's here."

Almost on instinct, the titan jerked its head up then opened its mouth, letting a blood curling scream pierce the air.

Annie smirked as she watched Vadil's wounds finally finish healing.

"Eren, no!" Mikasa cried, shooting her metal hooks at a nearby tree, trying to cut off Eren's path.

Eren wasn't sure why he leapt off of Armin's horse.

He wasn't sure why he was heading towards Annie with a tremendous amount of speed.

But when he saw her pinned up against a wall…

His body just moved on its own.

Did he want to help her or did he just want to kill her while he still had the chance?

He didn't know.

"EREN!" Mikasa screamed.

Eren also did not know when the titan appeared before him, but he felt its hand wrap around his body, nearly crushing his bones.

"Gah!" he felt the air escape from his lungs, pain shooting up from his shoulder down to his fingers.

"You really are an idiot." Annie's cold voice slapped Eren across the face.

He slowly raised his head until he was staring into an icy pool of light blue.

"You just let yourself be captured, that's not really smart, now is it?" Annie said quietly.

"A-Annie," Eren coughed. "Why are you-"

Blood.

Blood splattered against Annie's and Eren's face as Vadil screamed in agony. The hand that was holding Eren flew off, landing with a crash against the forest floor.

"How much of a fuckin moron can you be?!" Levi snapped, holding Eren by the back of his shirt as they flew through the air.

"L-Levi heichou, did you just cut off her arm?" Eren asked dumbly.

They both landed on a tree branch, the gentle breeze blowing some of the heat away.

"Vadil!" Annie said in a higher pitch than usual. "We have to get out of here. It'll take too long for you to finish healing and you just lost another damn arm. Stop being so stubborn and get out of here!" she ordered.

Vadil heard her.

Annie was sure of it so why won't she just do it!?

Danger. She sensed danger.

Annie spun on her heels, just in time to block a powerful blow to the face.

"Oh?" she said lowly, peering at Mikasa through her golden locks. "Why, hello there, monster."


	15. We Finally Caught You

Annie was very confident in her combat skills.

But then again, so was Mikasa.

The blonde managed to avoid and block all of the raven's powerful blows but some made her lose her balance.

Man, how much strength did this bitch have?

Annie frowned as she ducked, dodging another punch.

"Too slow." Annie smirked.

That comment pissed off Mikasa even more.

Annie swung her leg, aiming it at her knee but it was quickly blocked by Mikasa's foot.

Clicking her tongue, Annie raised her fist, getting ready for an uppercut.

Mikasa predicted this and blocked it with her arms.

"Annoying…" Annie hissed, trying to shake the pain away from her hand.

Mikasa wasted no time and went for a kick to her gut but this time Annie grabbed her leg, refusing to let go.

But before the blonde could do anything else, Mikasa's hand lashed out, grabbing her golden locks.

Soon they were eye to eye with each other, panting.

"Not bad…" Annie mumbled.

Mikasa said nothing.

The hatred in her eyes were enough.

"Let go of my hair and I'll let go of your leg." Annie said, her blue eyes twinkling.

"And you expect me to trust you?" Mikasa hissed back.

"No." Annie shrugged, ignoring the stinging pain in her scalp. "But it was worth a shot.

Annie's eyes flickered down at Vadil's still body.

She hasn't been moving for a while now.

This time she glanced over at Levi and Eren.

He was tending to that idiot's broken arm.

Heh, what a loser.

"What are you looking at?" Mikasa said with a deadly tone, her grip only tightening.

Annie said nothing as the cold glint in her eye slowly returned.

"Stay here, brat." Levi hissed. "Move and I'll kill you."

"Y-Yes sir!" Eren said before wincing.

His arm was beyond repair but Levi was kind enough to make a sling for him with the sleeve of his shirt.

Well it was poorly done but better than nothing.

"W-Wait, Levi heichou!" Eren suddenly said.

Levi looked back at him, raising an eyebrow.

"What…what are you planning on doing?" he asked as casually as he possibly could.

"What do you think, Eren?" he frowned. "I'm going to kill that bitch along with her titan friend." He said, pointing his blade at Annie and then at Vadil.

Eren opened his mouth to say more but Levi beat him to it.

"Don't even try to stop me, Eren." He said dangerously. "That blonde haired bitch killed innocent people. She's going to witness the same fate."

Silence.

And then,

"I know…" Eren replied lowly. "I know but-"

"But what?"

Eren wasn't sure what to say.

He didn't know why he was trying to stop Levi.

He wasn't sure why the thought of Annie dying…bothered him.

It felt like a rock was clinging inside of his chest, dragging him down…down…down…

He shook his head as if to throw all of these strange thoughts away.

Annie was his enemy.

She was a traitor…

She killed Levi's entire squad!

She killed so many innocent people!

So…so…

So, she should die…

Right?

What happened next even shocked Levi.

A sudden roar.

A sudden roar erupted from Vadil.

It was a deafening sound, it rang across the land, scattering birds all over.

It slammed against Eren, sending him to his knees while for Levi, it froze every muscle in his body preventing even the slightest of movement.

Mikasa was blown off of Vadil's shoulder and she landed with a loud THUD against the floor.

Annie had her hands over her ears but Eren caught the look in her eye.

Her goal was right there.

And she was about to achieve it.

Eren blinked and the next thing he knew, Vadil was right in front of him.

The sound waves left Eren, Mikasa, and even Levi paralyzed.

"Eren," Annie said coldly.

His pupils dilated at the sight of Vadil's arm raising.

"We finally…" Annie said, her eyes piercing themselves into his. "Caught you."


	16. It's Okay

Honestly, what an idiot.

Annie watched with mild interest as Eren slammed his foot against the fingers of Vadil's titan body.

They were both in her hand with no exits whatsoever as she leapt through the woods, far from Mikasa and Levi.

Eren's one arm was bound behind his back with a strip of cloth, preventing him from shifting but Annie was oh so kind enough to leave his mouth ungagged.

Which was sort of a mistake because the suicidal bastard had a loud mouth.

"Get me out of here, Annie!" he ordered, flashing her a dirty look. "Now!"

"Why?" she said, boredom reflecting off of her azure eyes.

Eren stayed silent but anger was clearly radiating off of his features.

He continued kicking against his cage, ignoring the look of amusement that flickered across the blonde's face.

"It won't work." She said.

"I know!" he snapped back.

"Then why are you trying?"

"Why not?!"

Silence.

Heaving his chest up and down, Eren gritted his teeth before mumbling,

"Why, Annie…?"

"You need to speak up." She blinked, her eyes not leaving the back of his head. "I can't hear-"

"I SAID WHY?!"

His voice boomed out, springing off of the flesh walls, ringing against their ears.

But Annie didn't seem fazed.

"Why what?" her voice was cold as she narrowed her eyes.

"Why did you betray-"

"This again?" she cut in. "I told you, it's because I'm evil-"

"Don't you lie to me." He hissed before marching over to her and glaring down at her still figure. "You suck at lying…"

Silence.

And then,

"It was my mission."

"Huh?"

"It was all just a mission. Grow as a warrior, train as a warrior, sneak into the walls as a warrior, then pose as a soldier, observe a boy named as Eren Jaeger as a soldier," her voice was quiet and was barely a whisper. "Befriend the boy as a soldier, then capture the boy as a monster, and bring him back home as a traitor…" for some reason, her eyes refused to meet his.

If she did then she would've seen the look of shock and confusion etched across his face.

She didn't want to see that for reasons she didn't know herself.

"W-What…?" his voice was hushed, the fire was dying down in his eyes. "What are you…talking about? What mission? What sort of mission is…that?"

Annie slowly raised her head and that was when Eren knew something was very wrong.

She was smiling.

A horrible, horrifying smile.

A dead, sad, gruesome smile.

A smile that only emanated loneliness, pain, and grief.

And Eren could only form one thought:

_He hated that smile._

"I am a warrior." She said, that disgusting smile not fading. "I will dedicate my life to my missions and I will remain loyal to the future…"

Something about her tone sent chills down Eren's spine.

"No matter how many die, no matter how many I have to kill, no matter how much blood I have to spill…" unconsciously, she began to wrap her arms around herself, not noticing the look of horror on the boy's face. "I will…fulfill my duty…as a…warrior…"

What could he do?

There was nothing he could do.

That cold, stoic mask that did so well to hide her true emotions was chipping away, cracking and breaking after each passing second.

And as each layer fell to the floor, Eren could easily see through her like glass.

That massive swirl of negative emotions that seemed to be strangling the girl mercilessly was now visible to the boy.

Everything that she had to hold inside, all the tears, the regret, the pain, the sorrow, _the loneliness._

They were all so clear to the boy now.

So, he had to hurry, he had to hurry and take it all in before she foolishly covered them all back up again.

He had to absorb all of her words and emotions before she hid it behind a mask once more.

"It's okay." He said.

Instantly, the smile that marred the girl's face disappeared the moment those words drilled itself deep into her ears.

"It's okay…" he repeated. "I…I don't really get it but," his expression softened as his green orbs clashed with blue. "It's okay, Annie."

And for some odd reason…

For some stupid reason…

Annie believed him.


	17. Sleep

Eren wasn't sure how long they have been in this goddamn hand but it certainly felt like forever.

After that little breakdown, Annie refused to make eye contact with him, creating a rather awkward atmosphere.

Shifting his sleeping position a bit, Eren tried to fall back to his peaceful slumber but he felt her eyes staring at the back of his head.

He wasn't that stupid, he sensed her desire to say something but the words wouldn't fall out of her mouth.

Frustrated but still a bit uncertain about this entire situation, he waited for her to use her voice.

Nothing.

There was no way he would be able to sleep through this.

Finally, he jerked himself up and whipped his head back to face her, but almost instantly, her eyes flickered towards her hands instead.

Groaning internally, the boy frowned, uncomfortably trying to adjust his bound hands.

Damn, the strip of cloth that held them together was biting into his skin; a burning sensation digging itself deep into his bones.

"Hey, can you untie me?" he asked, trying to loosen them as best as he could.

"No."

It was a very straightforward answer that for a second Eren was taken aback.

"U-Um, why?" he snapped, trying to recover from his minor surprise.

"You'll escape." She blinked, her gaze still on her fingers.

Eren stayed silent.

Yeah, he would probably shift if he had the chance…

There weren't any objections there.

"Then where are we going?"

Slowly, those familiar pool of blue orbs rested on his face.

He swallowed, his heart pounding against his chest.

Something about that look sent chills down his spine.

"Home."

Silence.

Huh?

Home?

"What?" he growled. "Stop playing with me."

"Playing?" Annie suddenly hissed, her tone slicing through the air. "Do you think this is a game?"

"I-I never said…that…" he mumbled.

Dammit.

He was stuttering again.

For a split second her expression softened but the coldness in her eyes didn't fade.

Tucking a lock of her golden hair behind her ear, she shot him another glare before averting her eyes back to her nails.

Another moment of silence.

And then,

"Forget what you saw."

Eren's eyes snapped open before processing her words.

"Huh? Forget what?"

His eyes tried to peer through her curtain of hair that was doing a pretty good job at veiling her face.

He noticed her gently bite her lower lip as she carefully raised her head to look at him, those golden threads swishing around her ears.

"Never mind."

Eren took a moment to realize what she meant.

"Ah," he blinked, nodding his head. "Yeah, I'll forget about that little…meltdown."

"Don't call it a meltdown." she snapped, narrowing her eyes.

"Y-You just lost self-control! T-That's normal! Kind of…"

He saw a flash of anger run across her face and he immediately regretted his poor choice of words.

"U-Uh, w-what I meant to say was," he began, a smile awkwardly tugging at his lips. "I-I'll forget it. I won't ever mention it again and I won't tell anyone either…"

She looked at him with an expression that Eren couldn't quite put his finger on.

Another gentle shiver crawled down his back.

"Is that so…?" she whispered.

He said nothing.

A few more minutes seemed to have passed.

And then,

"Eren I'm going to ask you a question."

He mentally flinched.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice a bit higher than usual.

"Can I…" she trailed off before exhaling.

Gently she rested her head against the fingers of Vadil's titan body before letting her shoulders relax, her expression softened, and her eyes slowly began to close.

"Can I sleep…?"

There was another meaning to that wasn't there?

Eren knew there was another meaning to that sentence.

_Can I lower my guard enough to sleep?_

_Can I leave myself in a vulnerable position?_

That was what she was asking…

In a simpler term, it would probably be the question

_Can I trust you?_

It was kind of ironic.

She was the murderer here.

She was the monster here.

She was the traitor.

While he was the victim.

He was the one who was kidnapped by her, betrayed by her, manipulated by her…

She was the one who took him away from his friends and family.

And yet, she was asking him if _she could trust him?_

He couldn't even trust her.

But could she trust him?

Could a murderer trust a victim?

No.

Logically speaking, the predator can't trust the prey.

What if the prey became the predator?

But this was a special case.

Annie was a special case.

Eren was a special case.

And so, with a deep sigh and tired eyes, he massaged his forehead before mumbling, "Yeah…sleep, Annie."

Silence.

He glanced up and blinked.

She was already asleep.

He watched her, holding his breath as she softly shifted herself against the meat walls.

Sighing in relief, Eren slumped against the 'floor' before letting exhaustion settle over him once more.

He glanced over at Annie once more, making sure that she was really drifted off to dreamland.

Her breathing was slow and deep and her hair that was usually in a bun was untied, shimmering like real gold. That intimidating look that was always on her face seemed to have been melted away by the soothing whispers of sleep.

Eren blinked, a strange feeling enveloping him.

For a second, for a split very short second, Annie actually looked kind of…

Pretty.

Instantly, he aggressively shook his head, anger and confusion washing over him once more.

What the hell was he thinking?!

At a time like this he was staring at some girl?!

And this girl just so happened to be a traitor to humanity!

This girl just so happened to be a freakin shifter who killed countless people!

And here he was letting his hormones rage.

Irritated, he rested his head against the pathetic excuse for a floor and closed his eyes.

For now, he'll let his guard down too…

But that didn't mean that he trusted her!

Yeah…

He would never trust her…

He would never trust her again…

Even if his life depended on it.


	18. Drowning

She was drowning.

Drowning in the dark, murky waters of an endless ocean.

She couldn't swim, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't feel anything…

She didn't want to feel anything…

She couldn't feel fear nor could she feel the cold.

She felt nothing…

Nothing…

But she still wondered.

Wondered about the world,

She wondered about the universe and how it existed.

She wondered why she was even alive.

And she wondered about why she was drowning in this horrible, suffocating place.

And…

What was her name?

She wondered why…

Why she couldn't remember her name…

And why…

Why was there a boy standing above her with that sad…oh so very sad…look?

Why was he not saying anything?

Why was that boy crying?

And still,

She did not feel anything.

His tears glistened down like jewels before splashing into the ocean waters, morphing into them, becoming one with them.

He was saying something.

What was he saying?

She didn't know.

She didn't care.

But he was irritating her.

That crying boy, that naïve, stupid, and little boy was annoying her.

She raised her hand, reaching, and reaching, and reaching.

What was she reaching for?

Nothing.

There was nothing to grab onto.

So, as she drowned, as she stared up at the boy, she asked him a question.

"You," she said. "Why are you crying?"

The tears stopped,

The sobbing ceased,

The boy looked down at her dying figure.

Silence.

And then,

"Because," he said softly, his hands resting against the surface of the moving water. "I'm crying because…"

* * *

"ANNIE! WAKE THE FREAK UP!"

Jerking up from her slumber, Annie leapt up, all of her senses fired up and on alert.

Her blue eyes scanned her area, her heart thumping loudly against her chest over and over and over again.

Nothing.

"…" she paused, turning to look at Eren who had a very sheepish look on his face.

"Haha…" he gulped. "Good afternoon?"

"Yeah…?" she said softly, slowly and carefully walking towards him. "Good night."

But before she could raise her leg and smash it against his damn face, Eren quickly came up with a statement of defense.

"W-Wait!" he exclaimed, desperately trying to avoid her dangerous weapon, AKA her feet. "I-I had to wake you up…! Vadil told me to! It was her idea! Not mine!"

"Vadil…?" Annie blinked, looking up.

Now that she had a better understanding of her surrounding, she noticed Vadil leaning against a tree at least ten feet away.

They were no longer in her titan hand and instead were outside, completely safe and sound.

"Since when…" she started.

"A long time ago actually." Vadil's voice snapped, walking towards them

She was definitely worn out.

Her hair was a mess and her pupils were only showing the weakness of exhaustion.

But despite her lack of rest, she still had that burning spark of determination in her eyes.

"Eren carried you all the way over here, underneath this nice shade, where the freshest and greenest patch of grass is, next to this sparkling river." She said with a mocking tone.

Annie said nothing for a moment before glancing at Eren who was scratching the back of his neck.

"You did?" she asked softly.

"She's exaggerating a bit…" he mumbled. "But I did carry you."

Annie flashed him her infamous look of indifference before facing Vadil once more.

"What happened on our way here?"

"That midget and Asian chick didn't follow us. My scream did a pretty good job, huh?" she smirked, crossing her arms. "I ran for a long time. A long, long, long time so a thank you would be nice."

Annie ignored her last comment.

"This is the safest spot I could find…for now at least, so we better move out once we've rested."

Tucking another golden lock of hair behind her ear, Annie nodded in agreement.

"Vadil, you should sleep. You look…" she trailed off.

"Like shit?" Vadil frowned.

"No," Annie blinked with her usual stoic expression. "You look tired."

"Whatever." Vadil growled, sitting down on a decent space of shade. "Oh, I almost forgot. Don't even think about running away, Eren." She called out. "Because even if I'm out of order, Annie isn't." she chuckled.

Vadil yawned and stretched, preparing to drift away into her land of sleep.

After confirming that Vadil was indeed asleep, Annie's eyes traveled towards Eren.

He was sitting near the edge of the river, his eyes focused on the small mass of liquid before him.

He seemed to be deep in thought, but she knew he wasn't.

He was probably day dreaming.

She walked over to him, her steps quiet and discreet.

Eren hardly even heard her coming until the light tap on his shoulder gave her away.

"What do you want?" he grumbled, flashing her an irritated look.

She remained quiet, her azure eyes only reflecting the light rays of the sun as she gazed down at him.

"I had a dream." She said softly.

He stared back at her, confused.

"Okay?" he blinked. "And?"

"I don't remember what it was about though."

Silence.

"And," he frowned, slightly annoyed. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Once again, another moment of silence filled the air before it was shattered by her voice,

"Just wanted to let you know…"

Eren, in his own opinion, was not a very observing person.

There were many things he was quite oblivious to, especially when it came to people.

However, this one particular event was something even he took a notice of.

He realized that Annie Leonhardt was not very good at conversations.

In fact, she was terrible at them.

If she wasn't spewing threats, insults, or sassy comebacks then she was either quiet or dead.

If she was not quiet or dead, and not throwing threats left and right, then she would blurt out awkward and random things that weren't really necessary to their current situation.

Such as dreams she couldn't remember.

So, Eren decided to help her out a bit.

In his own awkward way.

"Oh, I have dreams like those all the time." He said nervously. "Those…dreams that are always forgotten. It gets pretty annoying after a while."

"Yeah…"

Silence.

This girl was impossible.

Did she not know how to continue a simple conversation?

Was she really that clueless on socializing with other people?

Come on, say something!

At least ask a question!

"Why didn't you just…escape?"

Eren flinched at her voice.

Okay,

He wanted her to ask something but he didn't want her to ask those types of questions.

"While I was sleeping…you had the perfect chance to-"

"No, I didn't. If I shifted, you would've woke up…" he snapped. "Shifting is loud. All that lighting and stuff."

"Ah…I see."

It was another awkward moment of silence.

Eren wasn't sure how long he would last.

"Well, at least I can use both of my arms now." He chuckled weakly. "My broken bone is all healed and I don't have some rope holding them hostage."

He waited for some reaction.

Nothing.

Of course.

What was he expecting?

"I…I can skip stones now and stuff…" he tried to keep this sorry excuse of a conversation alive as best as he could by picking up an oval shaped rock and flinging it across the surface of the river.

Annie watched it bounce a couple of times before letting it sink to the bottom.

She stared at the ripples that gently caressed the shoreline, then her eyes rested on Eren's hopeful face.

She blinked at him.

Oh…

Did he want her to say something?

Ah, right…

He wanted a conversation, didn't he?

Silence.

And then,

"Oh."

Eren's smile seemed to have brightened.

"I remember now," she continued, her pale blue eyes still holding no emotion. "In my dream, I remember what happened in my dream."

Eren waited for more.

Blankly, she mumbled, "I was drowning."


	19. Smile with Pain

There was something that Eren had always wondered about Annie.

He had wondered about many things and it wasn't just about her inhuman fighting skills.

He questioned almost everything about her.

Like why her eyes always held that same emptiness, why she never smiled a real smile, why she never laughed a genuine laugh, why she never allowed herself to have fun, and why she was always drifting away from everyone else…

Why she was so far, far away from the others.

However, this time, Eren began to question something else.

"Why were you drowning?" he asked softly, his green eyes resting on Annie's blank expression.

"How am I supposed to know?" she replied, slowly glancing down to stare back at him.

They held onto each other's gaze for a while before quickly turning their heads away.

"It was your dream after all." He grumbled, picking up another round stone.

"I don't remember much." She sighed. "But, I think there was something else…" she trailed off, trying to remember as much as she could. "I think…someone was crying."

"Well this is a very bright dream." Eren mumbled, rolling his eyes.

Annie didn't seem to hear him, she simply stared out at the lake, watching the delicate ripples lap up onto the stony shore.

"Eren," she started softly. "Have you accomplished anything in your life?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Have you ever had a goal and…reached it?"

"Are you mocking me?" he frowned.

"No," she blinked, glancing down at him. "I was wondering…"

Ironic, wasn't it?

How Eren always wondered about this ice queen while the queen always wondered about this fiery dragon.

"Well…I had a goal the moment I saw my mom get eaten by those damn…titans." He hissed, frowning at his own reflection in the water. "I had a goal in that very instant…a big one and I'm going to reach it. I know I will." He paused, anger radiating off of him. "I'm going to kill every titan in the world…I'm going to kill them all…even if it destroys me, I'm going get revenge for her."

Annie stared at him, her azure eyes slightly softening at his words before quickly hardening them once more.

Silence.

The breeze wafted between them, rusting the trees nearby.

Eren didn't notice how hard he had been clenching his fists together until blood began dripping down his palm, splattering onto the grass.

"Does that mean…" she paused once Eren looked up at her, that familiar fire burning his eyes. "Does that mean you'll kill me too?"

For some odd reason,

Something cut across Eren's chest.

Like a dagger, digging and twisting deep into his lungs.

Pain?

Why was he in pain?

Unconsciously, he raised his hand, gripping the fabric of his shirt in between his fingers.

It hurt…

For some reason, it hurt…

Why was his chest hurting?

"I am titan after all." She said softly, her eyes refusing to leave Eren's.

She was holding him there, keeping him hostage with just her gaze.

He found it difficult to breathe…

He couldn't breathe!

He opened his mouth as if he had something to say but slowly clamped it back shut.

"Well?" she whispered, the breeze picking up strands of gold before softly letting it back down. "Are you going to kill me as well, Eren Jaeger?"

"Yeah…" he choked, the pain refusing to die. "I'm going…to kill the traitors too."

Annie said nothing.

Eren said nothing.

Silence.

Then, Annie began to laugh.

The same laugh that sent chills down Eren's spine.

The laugh that he absolutely hated.

She was giggling, her eyes reflecting the same bitterness he had seen so many times.

That wretched, horrible, disgusting look.

"That's so like you…!" she laughed, her voice ringing out as she threw back her head. "I should've expected that answer, you suicidal bastard!" she continued to laugh, wrapping her arms around her stomach. "Then, answer this for me." She chuckled, her smile widening into something even more hideous.

Eren could've sworn that the pain in his chest was getting worse.

"Tell me, Eren," she said quietly, that ugly smile burning itself into Eren's memory. "Does that mean you'll kill yourself too?"

…huh?

…what…?

Wait, what?

Wait…

Huh?

Eren stared at her, gawking as she continued to give a few more giggles here and there.

"W-What?" he stammered. "What are you-"

"You're a titan too, aren't you?" she said sweetly. "Doesn't that mean you have to kill yourself too?"

Ah,

She was right…

He was also a titan…

He was also a monster.

He was also the enemy of humanity.

She…was right.

He hated the very thing that was him.

"…yeah…" he said, his eyes widening at his own words. "That means I have to kill myself too."

Annie stopped laughing, her smile fell almost instantly once the words left his lips.

She stared at him, shock flickering across her face before quickly disappearing.

"Ah…" she said softly.

Eren had to take a moment to realize what he had just said.

He had to take a couple of breaths to digest everything that had just happened.

Kill himself, huh?

A titan…

He was going to kill all the titans and yet he, himself, was a titan.

The pain…

The pain in his chest wasn't going away…

Go away.

Go away, please…

It hurt.

Dammit.

Why was he in so much pain?!

And then,

"You're not just a suicidal bastard..." she whispered. "You're also an idiot."

Eren jerked his head up.

That tone…

Her tone suddenly changed.

Shielding his eyes from the sun, he peered up at her before nearly falling backwards.

He gave a small gasp, losing his balance for a quick second before catching himself just in time.

She was smiling.

A strange, awkward smile, but it was different than what she had been showing a few minutes before.

It was…

It was almost bright, almost warm, and almost…beautiful.

Eren must be seeing things…

Annie was smiling?

Not possible…

This was not possible.

But there she was, the gentle rays of the sun softly hugging at her figure, the breeze playing with her hair, her blue eyes filled with such…beauty that Eren could do nothing but stare in awe.

She was smiling.

A smile that was serene, soft, and lovely.

A smile that seemed more delicate than the wings of a butterfly.

A smile that was just like the moon itself.

And just like that, the pain that was writhing and squirming around in Eren's chest only a few seconds before, was slowly fading away.

The pain that was clinging onto his heart, squeezing the life out of him, was finally gone.

"Yeah," he said softly, refusing to tear his eyes away from that silent smile. "I am an idiot."


End file.
